Bourdain's visit misses Detroit's heart

Nov. 23, 2013

As an Anthony Bourdain fan, I was so looking forward to his visit to Detroit. What was that? I have never seen a Bourdain episode that made me think, “no reason to go there.” Why would he choose to make this that episode?

The problem isn’t so much what he showed, it was what he didn’t show: the heart of the city, the theaters, the multiethnic restaurants, the sport centers, the art. Hey, Anthony, come back and see what Detroit is truly about, the desolation, which will be resolved, along with what keeps it going. The visit will be more realistic and you will not walk away thinking, this is a city you do not want to visit.

Brenda Nunez Mantay

Grosse Ile

Kennedy at the Book-Cadillac

I worked downtown for several years and I would frequently pass the Book-Cadillac Hotel. This was prior to its renovation and most of the exterior was in deplorable condition. However, I always turned to glance at a tablet on an outside wall that proudly noted that JFK’s last appearance and speech in Detroit was to a crowd of supporters that had gathered at the hotel. One morning I noticed that the tablet had gone missing. I’ve often wondered if it had been removed for safe-keeping or had fallen prey to the metal scavenging that still devastates so many of the city’s once venerable homes and buildings.

Robert del Valle

Royal Oak

Wolf hunt unnecessary

I am writing in response to a comment that ran Nov. 18 about the wolf hunt in Michigan. The writer repeats the old saw that because animal species overpopulate they must be controlled by a “harvest” by either hunters or sharpshooters. As a professor of environmental science, I can tell your readers that predator populations do not need to be controlled — they are already controlled naturally by the prey population. When prey is abundant, predator populations go up; when prey populations drop, a drop in the predator population follows.

There have always been provisions for killing the rare problem wolf. In fact, because hunters usually take as their trophy one of the alpha pair, the largest wolves in the pack; the social structure of the wolf pack may break down. Without the older, alpha wolves in control, adolescent wolves are more likely to stray into human habitations and cause problems. Thus hunting not only does not solve a biological problem, it can create problems where none existed before.

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James N. Bull

Lincoln Park

Liberal delusions

Regarding Marina v.N. Whitman’s opinion piece, it appears that in her world the desire for smaller government, balanced budgets, lower taxes and true equal rights for all (including the most vulnerable) are radical ideas, while higher taxes, wealth redistribution and acceptance of the indiscriminate killing of babies are “moderate” positions. As long as liberals continue to delude themselves that they’re really the moderates, they leave no room for reasonable discussion.

John Stewart

Livonia

Time for a centrist party

The local commentary by Marina v.N. Whitman regarding the formation of a new political party made up of centrist moderates rang a bell with me. For too long, the Democratic and Republican political parties seem more concerned with getting elected and being re-elected than representing the majority of Americans. Perhaps it is time for a new party that truly represents the majority of Americans rather than those who appeal to the radical left and the ultra-conservative right.